crime · Ghost story · mystery · paranormal · suspense · thriller

The Sun Down Motel – Simone St. James ★★★★

Blurb; The secrets lurking in a rundown roadside motel ensnare a young woman, just as they did her aunt thirty-five years before, in this new atmospheric suspense novel from the national bestselling and award-winning author of The Broken Girls.

Upstate NY, 1982. Every small town like Fell, New York, has a place like the Sun Down Motel. Some customers are from out of town, passing through on their way to someplace better. Some are locals, trying to hide their secrets. Viv Delaney works as the night clerk to pay for her move to New York City. But something isn’t right at the Sun Down, and before long she’s determined to uncover all of the secrets hidden…

My Review; This one took me a while to read through the borrow box library app but well worth every page. It’s a mystery/paranormal/Thriller/crime all in one. It’s told between two characters aunty Viv back in the past who vanished into nowhere with no answers to where she went or if she is even alive. Then in the present day through her niece seeking answers about what happened to her aunt Viv and what really happened all those years before. She finds herself following her aunties footsteps but everything is not as it seems. Ghosts. Hauntings. Deaths. A travelling sales man. Can she figure it out all these years later? Can she reveal all the hidden secrets. Is her aunt still alive? A brilliant outcome, unexpected and jaw dropping. Highly recommend. A well deserved four stars from me. Brilliantly written. Gripping.

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horror · paranormal · suspense

*BLOG TOUR* Oujia – Zoe-Lee O’Farrell ★★★★

Blurb; The only thing for certain is the deaths were no accident.

Rayner High School once a prestigious school stands in ruins after such a terrible event.

A year later, a group of friends return to the abandoned school and their nightmare begins.

Something wants to get out and won’t take NO for an answer…

Ouija is Book 2 in a new series brought to you by Question Mark Horror. For fans of Point Horror, Christopher Pike & Nicholas Pine.

My Review; From the first page I was hooked. A short, easy and fast paced read. Spooky. Scary. Dark. Disturbing. Heart pounding. Not one to read in the dark alone. This has put me off oujia boards for life, no thanks. Gripping. Thrilling. A page turner of a read.

Brilliantly written. Great setting in the old haunted school and a nice group of close friends. Tragic ending which broke me but I loved and enjoyed it all. Highly recommend. A well deserved four stars from me.

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crime · Detective · mystery · paranormal · suspense

Wychwood – George Mann ★★★★★

Blurb; Elspeth May, a young female journalist who never seems to be in the right place at the right time, suddenly gets her big break only to find that no one will ever believe her story.

When a local woman is found murdered in her own home, slashed viciously across the throat, the police begin a manhunt of the surrounding villages, unsure exactly of who or what they are looking for. Elspeth, accidentally first on the scene, finds her interest piqued, and sets out to investigate the details surrounding the crime. In doing so she finds herself constantly battling against Peter Shaw, a police sergeant working on the case and under suspicion due to a terrible incident that occurred during a previous investigation. More murders follow, each of them adopting a similar pattern.

What links the victims? And why are some of the local people trying to cover things up?”

My Review; Elspeth is returning to her mothers home and as soon as she arrives something is not right, police and emergency services are blocking off her mothers road and this is just where it begins. You’re drawn in from the first page and then you’ve got to buckle up for a roller coaster of a ride ahead.

I actually devoured this book in a day. I picked this one up from my library (before lockdown) purely for the cover, isn’t it gorgeous but simple? Anyway…

The reporter routes within Elspeth has to go take a look at the crime scene behind her house and while there she bumps into an old friend Peter now a detective and doesn’t expect to see what she has just seen and is told to leave. Again… This is just the beginning. Elspeth soon finds herself dragged along with this case beside Peter and she even conducts her own research into what she saw.

Research leads to an old myth/legend that seems to be coming true within the town and with more deaths due they need to catch the killer quick. Elspeth shocks me with how right she gets her research, she’s clever, bold and brave. She knows what’s she doing. It all finishes with a heartbreaking ending, but I was hooked from start to finish and cannot wait to see what happens in book two for Elspeth and Peter. A well deserved five stars from me. Brilliant, page turner of a read I couldn’t put down. Highly recommend.

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